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WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the clock is ticking for Congress to prevent a government shutdown, House Republicans approved a six-month stopgap funding bill, known as a continuing resolution.
With a razor-thin Republican majority in the House, President Donald Trump urged party unity to pass the measure, while Vice President JD Vance visited the Capitol Tuesday to urge Republican members not to let a shutdown happen on the president’s watch.
Trump allies in Congress rallied behind the bill.
“I think the strategy of showboating and saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to shut down the government’ is not going to work. It will just make us look like idiots, and we’re going to lose the next election. Rightfully so,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said in an interview on the Alec Lace Show Tuesday. “So as Republicans, let’s get our crap together. Make sure we all vote for this thing.”
Even some hard-right Republicans who have vehemently opposed stopgap funding bills voted for the measure.
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, wrote in a post online:
“I’ll admit some disappointment. I want to see Congress aggressively change funding and policy in law every single time we get a chance. This bill actually does that, by a tiny amount. The status quo inertia is enormous, but this bill represents progress—perhaps even the start of momentum.”
The 99-page bill would boost defense spending by about $6 billion and cut non-defense spending programs by about $13 billion.
Democrats staunchly opposed the measure, which they had no part in drafting.
Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, said no Democrat would support a bill spending more on Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and less on children’s and health care programs.
“I haven’t met one yet, but perhaps there’s someone out there. But I’m unaware of it,” she said.
Both the House and Senate must pass the stopgap measure by Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown.
